The Dream
Mrs. Belen T. Cruz and Mr. Felipe Amoranto originally conceived Del Pilar Academy in 1949.� Its primary mission was to fulfill the need for another high school in Imus to accommodate the growing student population of Imus and to help parents who might not be able to send their children to schools in Manila.
Mr. Amoranto for personal reasons backed out of the project.� Mrs. Cruz then invited Dr. Mabini S. Virata, Miss Teotista B. Topacio, Dr. Josefa J. Ilano, Mrs. Ester T. Celestial, Mr. Jose N. Topacio Sr., and Mr. Eliseo A. Ocampo Sr. to form a corporation establishing a secondary school.� For� lack of a building, Dr. Virata convinced Msgr. Pedro Vicedo to allow the use of the dilapidated and useless parts of the church convent for its initial operation.� The corporation then undertook the repair and renovation of the convent for its two first classrooms.� The school was then named Del Pilar Academy after the town's patron saint, Nuestra Senora Del Pilar.� After a long process, Del Pilar Academy was on June, 1950 for its first and second year, with an enrollment of 185 students.
The Mission
Other than its primay mission as a secondary school, Del Pilar Academy has the following noble objectives:
1.�� To develop moral and spiritual values among its students by having strong faith in God,
2.�� To develop its students to be enlightened patriotic and useful citizens in the community,
3.�� To prepare the children to contribute to the economic development and wise conservation of our
����� natural resources,
4.�� To improve standards of family and community life, and
5.�� To assist in the education of the poor but deserving students to become useful citizens.
The Curricula
The 2-2 plan of the secondary curriculum was implemented during the school year 1952, where the commercial curriculum was converted into academic and vocational. In 1953-1954 school year, DPA offered the general secondary course.� Since 1970, DPA has offered the general academic course which attracted students who wish to pursue further courses in college.� Enrollment started to increase, requiring the school to construct additional building, annexes, and classrooms to accommodate the growing student population.
Determined to keep its facilities modernized and upgraded to meet the fast changes in education, the school envisions to construct a 4-story concrete edifice at the site of the old main building constructed in 1954. This will house classrooms and laboratories meeting the challenges of the fast changing technologies of the new millennium.
The Product
Del Pilar Academy is proud to have produced outstanding graduates who have excelled in various fields of endeavor.� Graduating class of only 3 in 1952, it has grown to graduate a total of 15,404 students as of school year ending 1999 with the last ten year average of 568 graduates per class.
Among its outstanding graduates are:
1.�� Atty. Eliseo Ocampo Jr. ( Class 54 )- Commercial Attache for several years at the Philippine
����� Embassy in Brussels, Belgium; current Chairman, DPA Board of Trustees.
2.�� Mr. Feliciano Paras ( Class 54 )-� Professor, Math Department, University of the East
3.�� Congressman Erineo Maliksi ( Class 55 )-� Congressman, 2nd District of Cavite; Former Mayor of Imus.
4.�� Mr. Eleazar Aragon ( Class 55 )-� Proprietor, Aragon Construction
5.�� Mr. Gabriel Sarmiento ( Class 58 ) -� Proprietor, Sarmiento Trucking
6.�� Mrs. Elsie Elises Semilla ( Class 61 )- Manager, Bank of Philippine Islands, Alabang Muntinlupa
7.�� Mr. Angelito Villanueva ( Class 61 )-� Vice President, Metrobank
8.� Mrs. Beatriz Erasmo Brillo ( Class 61 )- Topnotcher, Board Exams for Nurses
9.�� Mayor Oscar Jaro ( Class 63 )-� Incumbent Mayor of Imus
10. Ms. Celia Sapalasan ( Class 65 )-� Topnotcher, Board Exams for CPA
11. Mr. Reynaldo Sauler ( Class 65 )-� Owner of "Barong and Bridal", chain of boutiques
12. Mrs. Pricilla Rayala Moriones ( Class 68 )-� Incumbent Principal, Del Pilar Academy
13. Mrs. Florinda Ferrer Nidea ( Class 70 )-� Former Principal, Del Pilar Academy
14. Engr. Homer Saquilayan ( Class 72 )- Incumbent Vice Mayor of Imus
